Ingram deal takes Red Hat Linux into Best Buy

Distie giant to sell 5.2 with 90 day installation support package

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Red Hat Linux is going retail, with the announcement of a Red Hat authorised reseller programme and a deal with distribution giant Ingram Micro that will take Red Hat Linux 5.2 into major retail chains, including Best Buy and Electronics Boutique. Wider retail availability for Linux should cause furrowed brows in Redmond, and perhaps generate some embarrassing sales charts. Despite regular happy noises from Microsoft about the sales levels of whatever the current version of Windows happens to be, Microsoft operating systems have never been great performers at retail, so look for the first 'Linux outsells Windows 98' headlines next spring. The product Red Hat will be offering through retail will Red Hat 5.2 with bundled 90 days of Red Hat installation support. That'll make it easier for a wider customer base to get to grips with Linux, and sould also help Red Hat build up a useful customer database. The Ingram deal is intended to be long-term, and covers subsequent versions of the product as well. ®